


Olden Days, Olden Ways

by PseudoFox



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Anthropomorphic, Bisexual Male Character, Drama, Friendship/Love, Furry, Interspecies, Interspecies Romance, Interspecies Sex, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-21 21:40:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9567950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PseudoFox/pseuds/PseudoFox
Summary: Long before the likes of Dawn Bellwether, Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and others interacted in modern times, numerous tribes of mammals lived a simple yet occasionally perilous existence. Divided not just by lines between species but also contrasts in terms of experience, of family, and more, many individuals still attempted to prove themselves. One particular antelope has a lot of weight on his mind as well as a lot of dreams. This was written as a part of the 'Thematic Thursday' event.





	

Rays of sunlight bathed the entire patch of farmland as a cool breeze drifted in. Tucked into a large green spot amidst a collection of rolling hills and rock-filled streams, the entire area carried an aura of peace and calm. A group of antelope farmers silently wandered through carefully-laid out lines of trees, picking off clumps of seeds and placing them into bags swung around their waists. Off in the corner of the planting area, a young girl standing only as tall as a rabbit fiddled with a set of ropes.

The teenage farmers spent much of the spring morning chatting as they filled up their bags. A stretch of infertile yet pretty plains patched with various clumps of forest separated their family's land from bustling settlements crammed full of hares, mice, lambs, and other creatures. However, news from all across the kingdom spread fast— 'rain and rumor, both pour' as the older mammals remarked— and the farmers regaled each other with bawdy stories of sexual misadventures and thrilling tales of royal battles.

As much as arguments between them came as naturally as breathing, they all agreed on a single, burning desire: they had to head out spend time in the developed villages. Wishful thinking about sweet-talking a lonely lamb innkeeper into bed, pulling aside a bookish shopkeeper to learn more about writing, sparring with a friendly yet brawling bison to practice punching, or anything of the sort that they'd actually do there were minor things. On the farm, the sheer boredom felt like torture.

The short girl by the well let out a loud, exasperated groan. The teenage farmers tilted their heads in that direction but otherwise paid no mind save for the tallest antelope. He stopped to look over and attempted suppress a smile. The girl scowled into the running water at the bottom of the well before glaring at the cottage across from the trees. She angrily scratched against the heavy ropes that tangled all over her arms.

"Stupid grandma never lets me do anything _interesting_! I waste time with these idiotic chores when she _obviously_ should let me try wood-working again," she complained.

The girl kicked a small rock into the air. She groaned yet again, realizing that the move had gotten the ropes caught on her leg as well. The tallest antelope calmly dropped his bag down and scurried over to the smaller one's side. The farmer seized the haggard-looking wooden bucket tied by the ropes and put on a thoughtful, supportive expression.

"Sweetie, there's a trick to fixing the knots."

"It's not fair," the girl kept on griping, "I _clearly_ won't saw the table in half again!"

"Sweetie, please, you can get everything off of you in almost an instant, just as long as—"

"Josiah," called out a worn voice from inside the cottage.



They both looked over as they saw a long hoof sticking out of an open window. It tapped against the old wooden shutters before pointing over at the tall farmer. The mammals working the tree-covered fields finally paused for a moment, eyes going back to the cottage as well, but they quickly returned to tending the field.

"Please, Josiah, leave your sister and your cousins to their work," continued the voice from the window, "I have an important task for you. Come here."

The sunlight shone onto Josiah's light brown fur and short black antlers as he skipped over. His tall height meant that his head brushed upon branch after branch, but he couldn't care less. The slender, feminine teenager had picked up quite the amount of teasing from the rest of his family, especially that past morning. He'd, to put it bluntly, inherited his mother's curves rather than his father's strength. Still, Josiah had truly enjoyed staying with his relatives over the past several months. He had a cheerful demeanor anyways— getting told that his 'naivety of youth' was already seen by his elders 'for many generations'. That particular day, the spring breeze had grown stronger by the hour, giving the antelope a bit of a spring to his step.

"Yes, uncle?" Josiah asked, holding up a hoof against the cottage's wooden door.

"The exotic seeds that I ordered from the Oak Creek Village— the large pieces held in the territory of the hoppers— are vital," the other antelope said. Josiah looked on at the spread of wrinkles across his uncle's white fur. "The day has come when they are ready. You shall be the one to go fetch them."

"It's fine," Josiah answered, "but I still wonder why we even need them. Yes, I know that they're well and paid for— our family has traded with the hoppers for many moons now. Still, after all, this harvest—" He gestured back in the direction of his cousins, still working amidst the array of tall trees. "Seems bountiful beyond our greatest dreams—"

"When you have seen as many harvests as I have, young one," his uncle interjected, making a sly smile, "you know that such blessings tend to be few and far between. Do not be so brazen when thinking about the future."

"Yes, uncle," the chastened antelope replied, eyes pointing down at the ground.

"Now, then," the older one said, "it is perfectly all right." He brushed off a bit of hay that had fallen from the cottage's roof onto Josiah's head. "There is no truth to the rumor that I have been around the full fourteen hundred generations since the death of the Savior— forget what cousin Pronk tells you! No, I'm not that ancient— even if I may drink enough libations for the part!"

Josiah giggled. His uncle grinned from cheek to cheek. They locked eyes with each other, and Josiah leaned his head forwards as his uncle placed a vest around his chest.

"I must be serious, however," the older one remarked. Josiah's eyes grew wide as he saw a tiny dagger slipped into one of his pockets. "The bandits' territory may be far away, yes, but this weather reminds me too much of when the predators attacked."

"When they fought my father," Josiah muttered. He held a hoof against his chest as his mind flashed back to the terrible day. "A sky full of so much sunshine but so many darkened clouds in the distance, wind just building up and up—"

"I know, Josiah." He stretched himself closer and slid a hoof against the younger antelope's arm. Their breathing grew soft as Josiah rested his head down onto his uncle's neckline. "Time never heals such losses. All we can do is live our lives and be true to our own selves."

"Yes, Uncle." Josiah went over in his mind's eye yet again how he'd heard the news when playing with his then-infant sister on his family's marshlands. He'd fallen to his knees, sucked in a deep breath, and impotently smashed his hooves against the watery soil as he'd cried. "I understand."

"The accounts of wayward lions and tigers, making their way from the vast fields into the hoppers' hilly oasis... while it is all most likely just idle talk, I still urge you to be cautious." The other antelope stepped back into the cottage, sitting down in an immense wooden chair. "God be with you."

"Thank you for trusting this task with me."

"Just tell the large hare with the stripes, the one with the red-tented shop, that 'Kazdan wishes you well'. The village of the hoppers may be several hours away, but it is a welcoming one. He will know exactly what you need and why. The journey is the taxing part, not the destination—"

"I will see you in no-time, uncle," Josiah declared, trying his best to stand up tall. Determination burned in his eyes. "I won't let you down." He turned about and headed for the gravel road out of his family's farm.

"Another word!"

Josiah silently turned. He saw his Kazdan's hoof sticking out of the window yet again. The younger antelope sucked in a deep breath.

"These new bandits appear to spit out this peculiar talk— coaxing prey to lower their guard in order to claim them by trickery, rather than merely using brute force. Please, Josiah, do not fall for their lies."

"I won't let you down," Josiah repeated. He waved over to the rest of his family, the breeze brushing through the greenery, and he tried to straighten his clothes. He tried to remind himself that he'd made the journey before. Still, his thoughts returned to how he carried a weapon for the first time— not just any weapon but one of iron, twisted into jagged edge after jagged edge, showing how it was made to _kill_.

"Hey, Josiah!"

The antelope spun around and saw two of the farmers waving at him from the edge of the large field. Josiah stopped, curious, and hopped on in between the trees over to them. The other teenagers leaned up against a gigantic moss-covered stone, a scattering of various sized rocks all around them. The farmers' arrogant yet frustrated expressions bewildered Josiah.

"Oh, yes? Pronk? Bucky?"

"So, I guess father has decided that _you_ , of all mammals, will be the one going off to the village of the jumpy fuzzballs," Pronk remarked, his voice having this gruff edge to it. He pressed two hoofs together and held them up against his chest. "Maybe if one of them crams several dozen carrots down your throat you might finally gain a pound for once."

"When you make it to the top of that hill, be careful that the wind doesn't blow you away," Bucky added.

"You heard? Well, it's true," Josiah replied, "Kazdan's told me that getting this batch of special seeds is pretty important."

What Pronk didn't have on Josiah in terms of height the cocky mammal more than made up for in greater strength. Yet Josiah severely doubted that getting snubbed over for a chance to leave the farm would be enough to start a fight. For all of the chiseled muscles and loud yells that Bucky and Pronk had, Josiah recalled them both crying waterfall-like tears at their bee-stings the previous day.

"The batch of rocks here, across from the cottage, is a sort of sound hub," Bucky said, picking something out of his teeth. His narrowed eyes and wide frown looked far less intimidating and more like he needed to badly use an outhouse. "Stand here, and you can hear anything from way over there."

"Clever," Josiah said, turning his head around and glancing at the gravel path out of the farmland, "but I really do need to get going—"

"Oh, look, as far as the journey goes," Pronk interjected, suddenly sticking out a hoof above Josiah's shoulder, "we all know that it's mostly just going to be walking. _Incredibly_ boring walking, right?" He glanced back at Bucky, who nodded. "Step after step across brown-covered fields... idle chatting about bandits aside, nothing at all will probably happen."

Josiah cleared his throat, having no idea what his cousins were getting at. "I guess..."

"So, why not take the shortcut through the lamb territory? Through 'Mineral Springs'?" Pronk opened up his eyes wide as he lowered his head a bit. Bucky made the same peculiar move.

"The springs? You mean that really rocky area?" Josiah rapidly blinked, wondering if his cousins had tried to hypnotize him. "That would take me off southwest instead of west, off in the wrong direction, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, come on, you're not going to turn down a chance to shave a solid hour or maybe more off of your travel time? Are you?" Pronk asked. Bucky kept on blankly staring.

Several seconds of awkward silence followed. "I'll, well, I'll think about it," Josiah finally replied. He stepped backwards for a moment before rubbing a hoof all over his face. His cousins both nodded. They then blinked— apparently having won their own odd sort of 'staring contest'— before waving at him. Josiah headed over to the gravel path out of the farmland and waved back.

"You think he fell for it?" Bucky asked Pronk, the two of them going back to tending the field.

"Of course not," Pronk responded. He brushed a hoof against a bunch of branches and smirked. "That doesn't matter, though. I _planted the seed_. The moron's own damned _curiosity_ will get the better of him."

The spring wind continued to build up as Josiah ventured down the gravel path. He repeatedly muttered to himself that he'd made his way to the territory of the 'hoppers' twice before. Still, he considered Kazdan's words carefully. Predators had such mysterious and often nasty ways. The boredom that came along, just as his cousins had predicted, didn't help. 

Josiah tried to raise his spirits by humming a simple tune. As the gravel road began its twisting path alongside hilly country into a set of rocky outcroppings, he raised his voice even louder before finally singing to himself. He hadn't spotted a single thing out of the ordinary. Still, Josiah felt constantly aware of his dagger as it gently rubbed against the side of his vest. The antelope went through tune after tune. The rustling of the strong wind and the noise of various bugs hopping from tree to tree were his only companions.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The tiredness finally getting to him, Josiah stopped and rested his back against a gigantic pile of stones. He rubbed a hoof against his face. The antelope let himself fade out for a moment— thinking over the somewhat recent news about the death of the king. While the regal deer had felt ill for some time, the sudden descent into delirium and finally death had hit everyone in the little kingdom hard. The king's eldest son, a mere boy of twelve, had a close alliance with the cunning sheep chancellor that was set to receive full power. Still, this notion that both leaders flirted of large-scale co-operation between all prey species— relying on what some mammals called the 'iron law of commerce'— appeared to Josiah to have more basis in hope than in reality.

A sudden rustling from the far corner snapped Josiah to full attention. The antelope jumped forward into the middle of the gravel path, hooves held up, and made his eyes open wide. Various bits of the tall shrubs around him moved in the wind. However, he knew from deep experience what sound was made by mere breezes versus by deliberate movement.

Josiah slowly stepped forward, his hooves below him digging into the hard gravel. He held his fighting stance for a while. Still, he could spot nothing out of the ordinary as time went on. The antelope began to keep on walking— though deliberately nudging an arm close to his vest, his dagger always on his mind.

"Should I?" Josiah whispered as he came upon a fork in the road. He glanced off into the distance, holding a hoof above his eyes, and sighed. "I suppose I might as well try. I'm so thirsty, anyways."

The antelope came up to the Mineral Springs before long. Much as he still watched for danger, his mind wandered into all sorts of topics. He had plenty of free time to think of some kind of insult to lob back at Bucky and Pronk when he finally returned. Yet Josiah's mind turned up empty.

"Well, no matter how nasty prey get with each other, that's a whole different thing," Josiah softly murmured, stepping into a large area filled with walls of rock and deep pools, "I know that they can never be even half as horrible as the monstrous predators all over." He made his way under a stone arch, and he paused as he looked up a tall cliff face.

The antelope took a drink in a huge, reflective pool. The sparkling water seemed to have something special about it. Josiah's uncle had told him quite a bit of the amazing power of mineral-filled springs— giving a boost to the spirit as well as the body. Josiah shook his head as he drank down another gulp. His family's elders knew so much about just about everything. If they sensed that that day would likely bring danger, they surely had a point. Yet he felt safe as can be.

"Well," Josiah whispered, gazing at his reflection for a moment, "I wonder—"

He briefly froze as a large object rapidly approached in the watery mirror. The antelope spun about and flung his body to the side. A projectile smashed into the side of the pool. Josiah grimaced as he jumped onto a patch of mossy stone and looked all around him.

"Show yourself!" Josiah screamed.

" _Gladly!_ "

The antelope twisted and turned as a shape that he could barely make out— something as fast as it appeared strong— jumped out at him. He kicked against the being as hard as he could. Yet they both appeared equally matched in terms of speed. Josiah's bobbing moves and sudden slides against the ground couldn't keep the being from closely following. The antelope took a risk and jumped into another pool.

Josiah struggled in the water, punching with all of his might. Bubbles coursed all around him. He tried to picture his father cheering him on as he rustled against what felt like a solid wall of fur before him. The antelope then thrust himself against the side of the pool and wound up atop a grassy bank. He rolled upon them and popped up onto his hooves, putting a fighting stance.

"Bold! _Daring_ , as well, but your risk-taking has failed to help you now," declared a gruff voice in front of him.

The antelope brushed bits of water and fur out of his eyes, trying to concentrate. A hoof reached down for his dagger. He soon realized that he faced off against his worst nightmare. The prey's eyes seemed to grow as wide as dinner plates.

"You're... you're a _lion..._ "

"Well, looks like this sweet morsel has gotten herself cornered," the lion remarked, clutching a long spear against his muscular chest. Power dripped off of his every word. "And what a particularly soft, feminine morsel he is as well." The predator's wet fur shone in the spring sun— Josiah's eyes scanning along the lion's ragged clothing. The bandit had nabbed what looked like broken yet effective bits of armor.

Josiah's frown grew wider. The bandit had likely ripped the forged iron off of some wayward servant of the king. Josiah pictured the lion carving the poor prey into shreds— the predator attacking with raw hate. The antelope gripped the tiny dagger tightly. He glanced up at the edges of the rock face behind him. Indeed, he was completely stuck, but he had plenty of fight left in him.

"I'm no meek and helpless prey," the antelope growled, shifting his head to the side and trying to grit his teeth, "this will not be easy for you!" He knew that his level of intimidation needed some work to say the least. Still, he felt his late father's sense of determination deep inside of him— Josiah's heart beating so fast. He held the dagger up defiantly.

"Oh, I'm not one for 'easy'," said the lion before letting out a deep growl. As he stepped closer, he held out the spear and let the sun shine upon its iron tip. "And I think you may have misunderstood my intentions quite a bit, though I'm sure you're surprised."

"I don't care for your lies," Josiah cried out, brandishing his weapon.

In a swift move, the lion knocked the dagger aside. The girly prey could barely react before the lion jumped forward. The antelope, still, managed to close his eyes. It had only been a matter of seconds. Yet Josiah could somehow almost hear his father behind him, speaking into his ear, as he prepared to meet the lost soul.

The lion leaned down with his spear and slashed open Josiah's vest. The long cloth that the antelope wore between his legs fell asunder as well. His dangling genitals exposed, Josiah let out a gasp. The lion, meanwhile, looked hungrier than ever.

The lion's eyes, even by themselves, seem to violate every last inch of the girly antelope's body. From his curvy rear to his slender legs to his taught, firm belly, Josiah brought such joy to the lion's face. The antelope took a gulp, feeling his body start to shiver.

"Well, you're not exactly safe," the lion remarked, grinning from cheek to cheek as he stepped even closer, "but I think you get my intentions now." He slipped the tip of his spear around Josiah's flaccid meat, gently lifting the shaft upwards. The prey's face turned a bright shade of red.

"It's... I heard about this, talk from neighbors to my cousins," stammered the antelope, "rumors that some bandit tribes practiced this weird... this..."

The lion suddenly stabbed forward with the weapon. Josiah let out a shriek of surprise. However, he realized a mere second later that the spear had merely pinned the last bit of his vest to the rock face behind him. He couldn't exactly feel relieved, though, since he could barely move.

"This... this is really," Josiah began. He found himself shoved backward. The lion gripped his neck with his powerful paws and locked their lips together. The predatory tongue slipped all over inside of the antelope's mouth. The antelope's sense of time and space became warped— all of the fearful confusion only heightened the bursts of pleasure. Yet he still badly wanted to push the predator off of him; he had to get a sense of what was going on.

The raw power of the lion, chest and belly shoved against Josiah's own flesh and rubbing upon him, proved too much. Josiah found his mind swimming in the sensations— his lips locked against the lion's lips. Finally, the powerful predator broke the kiss. Josiah felt the lion's saliva dripping down his neck, and he could barely even think as much as he tried to make himself.

"That's right," the lion said, "the tribes of you morsels call it: 'sexual hunting'. We predators like to call it: 'playing with our food'."

"Playing..." Josiah murmured.

"Or, to be more blunt," the lion remarked, letting out a hearty laugh, "we say: 'better date than dinner'!"

"Dinner!" Josiah called out. As tears began to well up in his eyes, he tried to shove the predator off of him. "You monster!" He turned his face against the stone wall and sucked in a deep breath. Little tears dripped down against the hard rock. "It's never going to—"

"Wait a moment," the lion said, migrating a paw against the antelope's belly.

"No!" Josiah closed his eyes and pushed once again. He shoved the predator away, staggering the lion with the force of his sudden strength. "The likes of you have been everything that I've been afraid of— even before I was able to walk!" He grit his teeth and tried to face the predator. "You terrible, hateful monsters! You steal our crops! You raid our convoys! You burn our cottages!"

"I can hardly light up a candle without accidentally cinging my paws," the lion remarked with a playful smirk, "I assure you that whatever some other bandit has done, I'm different—"

Josiah's irises looked like two balls of burning blue flame as he spat out his words. "You're killers! Murderers! Your kind killed and even ate my fath—"

"Sssshhh," the lion hissed. He griped the antelope's head and firmly locked a paw against Josiah's open mouth. The antelope shivered as he braced his own hooves against the lion's chest. Still, Josiah paused. "Aside from the detail about the crops, to which I plead 'no contest', not a single one of those terrible traits apply to me."

Josiah's expression made it clear that he hardly believed the predator one bit. He snorted loudly. The lion eased his grip on the antelope and put on a different sort of look— seeming more distant and wistful.

"If we're going to play the 'assume all species are the same' game, well," the predator remarked, "your kind killed my mother— when I was just a cub."

Josiah could barely think. He merely stared out. Of course, rationally, he knew that predators were conceived, born, and raised in a way not too different than any regular prey mammal. Still, from how he'd practically always acted as well as how every other prey that he'd ever seen acted, it felt so different. He pictured lions, bears, foxes, and the like spontaneously growing like patches of poisonous fungus upon toadstools, coming from nothing like a _real_ family.

"And, for what it's worth, the prey warriors gave me this." The lion pulled back his mane, showing off his bare neck. Josiah's eyes narrowed as he focused along a deep gash leading over to the predator's shoulder. He had picked up enough knowledge of health and medicine from his elders to tell that such a wound had existed on the lion for years upon years.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" asked Josiah. He held open his mouth as he brought his hooves against his chest, still feeling ready to punch the lion if need be. "Now is the _worst_ time in the _history of the world_ for you to except somebody to listen to your sob stories!"

The predator smirked once again. He calmly reached down and then slid one of his legs far behind him. The dagger slid across the rocky ground over in front of the antelope. Eyes growing wide once again, Josiah watched as the lion stepped a little bit back.

"How about this?" asked the lion.

The antelope hesitated, rubbing his vest as he breathed deeply. "What the—"

"Go ahead," the lion said, cocking his head to the side, "pick it up, you cute morsel you."

"Stop calling me that!" Josiah yelled back. He reached down and then brandished the weapon in the air before him. The lion remained only a small distance away.

The nice breeze and strong sun had already dried both of them off greatly. Yet the predator's fur still had such a sheen that Josiah couldn't help but just stare all around the lion's body. They both said nothing for a few seconds.

"Tell me why I shouldn't flip my hoof up and aim this right between your eyes?" Josiah asked, eyes narrowing into little slits.

"What, really, giving you back your weapon and letting myself become a target isn't enough to make my intentions clear?"

"What makes you think I give a _damn_ about if you've decided that you won't eat me? The 'alternative' that you've brought up is _raping me_!"

"Forgive me," the lion said with a raised eyebrow, "but predators with a sensual desire for prey can't exactly show up to a family's door with flowers and a big smile, now can they?"

"Just _shut up!_ " Josiah held up the dagger directly in front of his face.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Do it," the rabbit whispered, lifting her head higher over the edge of the heavy branch. She held her arms tightly against her chest. As much as she knew that neither prey nor predator could spot her, the bunny nestled safely behind a patch of greenery above the rocky area, she still pictured herself right there in the middle of the action.

She gazed at the antelope's figure. He'd braced himself against the stone behind him while putting one of the most enraged expressions that she'd ever seen. The bunny stuck her head out even more.

" _Do it._ Plunge that dagger right into the _filthy_ bandit's neck. Rid our village of another one of those things. I'm tired of them just—"

A loud snap sounded out. As the noise ricocheted all across the pool-covered area, the bunny felt her blood almost freeze. Her eyes slid to the side, and she saw as a patch of leaves on the tip of the heavy branch soared out into the air away from her. Meanwhile, predator and prey alike glanced around.

"Well... Judy, you are one dumb bunny."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks very much for reading!
> 
> After thinking about a bunch of serious things lately, well, I wanted to try something with drama yet being rather removed from everyday life. This is another sort of writing experiment. Please post if you have any advice, criticisms, ideas, or the like. Thank you again for looking at it.


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